ARLINGTON, Texas — A new chapter in the long-standing and historic rivalry between the United States and Mexico will be written again when the two North American neighbours clash in the Final of the 2023-24 CONCACAF Nations League Finals at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Since the inception of the CONCACAF Nations League in 2019-20, the only team to have lifted the trophy is the US, who claimed the first edition in 2021 and then repeated as champions for the 2022-23 season.
The US will hope to make it a ‘three-peat’ and face Mexico for the second time in the Finals. These two sides played in the inaugural Final in 2021 in what was a memorable affair, with the US winning 3-2 in extra time. A year ago, in the 2023 finals the US defeated Mexico 3-0 in the semi-final stage.
The United States qualified for the Final with a 3-1 win over Jamaica. The Caribbean side was on the verge of securing a place in the final, but an own goal deep in second-half stoppage time forced extra time, in which the reigning champions pulled through with two goals from Haji Wright.
A 3-0 win over Panama, including two goals in the first-half from Edson Alvarez and Julian Quinones, plus a second-half strike from Orbelin Pineda, propelled Mexico to their second-ever trip to the Final of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Wright was at an airport in England last weekend about to leave for Dubai during the international break when his phone rang. US coach Gregg Berhalter asked him to replace injured Josh Sargent on the American roster.
“My whole family´s here. My agent´s already there and my girlfriend´s going – she planned the whole thing,'” Berhalter remembered Wright telling him.
“I know you got your parents, the bags are packed and you´re at the airport, but just think about it for 10 minutes and give me a call back,” the coach said according to AP.
“He called me back and he said, `I´m in.’ And when I heard that, it really shows what type of guy he is, what type of character he is,” Berhalter added.
The United States escaped defeat with an own goal in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time, Wright scored twice in extra time and the Americans rallied past Jamaica 3-1 to reach the CONCACAF Nations League final against Mexico.
Greg Leigh scored 30 seconds in for the 57th-ranked Reggae Boyz, and the No. 13 Americans were on the verge of losing their third straight match. Instead, Wright scored in the sixth and 19th minutes of extra time and the US will try to win the Nations League for the third straight time.
“The start of my season wasn´t so great, and I just have to keep pursuing and testing my abilities,” said Wright, whose extra time goal last weekend lifted Coventry City to an FA Cup quarterfinal.
Both of Wright’s goals were set up by Gio Reyna, who entered at the start of the second half after being limited to 42 minutes over four substitute appearances for Nottingham Forest since he was loaned from Borussia Dortmund on Jan. 31.
Reyna spoke to media with the US team for the first time since the World Cup, when Berhalter almost sent him home for lack of hustle in training, and Reyna’s family notified the US Soccer Federation of a decades old domestic-violence incident involving the coach. Berhalter was replaced by assistant coaches for much of 2023, then rehired.
“I think both of us are so far past it and just so focused on the group that it´s not even an issue at all anymore,” Reyna said. “We´re just so far past it.”
Four minutes of second-half stoppage time originally were signaled by Honduran referee Selvin Brown and later five, and the clock was at 5:25 when Christian Pulisic´s corner kick to the near post was headed across by Miles Robinson.
The ball deflected off Jamaican forward Corey Burke and past goalkeeper Andre Blake, the latest goal for the Americans since Ricardo Clark scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time to beat Venezuela 1-0 in a 2012 exhibition.
“We feel that the game was finished before this corner came,” Jamaica coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said.
There was a sparse crowd for the first half at AT&T Stadium, where Mexico beat Panama 3-0 in the second game of the doubleheader.
With the US in new red, white and blue uniforms, defender Robinson was the only American starter from Major League Soccer.
Tyler Adams entered in the 63rd in his first appearance since the 2022 World Cup after recovering from a torn right hamstring that twice needed surgery. Restricted to limited playing time as he regains fitness, Adams complained to Berhalter when he was removed 10 minutes into extra time.
Jamaica was missing many of its top players. Michail Antonio, Leon Bailey and Trivante Stewart were not with the team and Demarai Gray and Shamari Nicholson were suspended. The US had 77 per cent possession and a 25-6 advantage in shots.
“The pregame talk is the normal CONCACAF speech, right? It’s not going to be easy, guys. It´s going to be a very difficult game,” Berhalter said. “And I think somewhere along the line it goes in one of the ears and then out the other one. They don´t really understand it.”
Notes: Mexico got goals from Edson Álvarez in the 40th minute, Julián Quiñones in the 43rd and Orbelín Pineda in the 67th. Quiñones, who was born in Colombia and became a Mexican citizen in October, scored his first international goal. It was originally ruled offside but was reversed in a video review.
